Just one year after establishment of the NoMa BID, NoMa has landed the two largest commercial real estate deals of the year. On March 5, NPR announced that it would relocate its multimedia headquarters with 600 employees to 1111 N. Capitol Street. Just the next day, the BID announced GSA’s decision to lease 521,000 square feet for the Justice Department at Two Constitution Square, bringing some 2,000 new office workers to the neighborhood. These were the two most hotly contested site selections in town, with landlords and jurisdictions vying to become the new home for both prestigious employers.
“First NPR, now the Justice Department -- this week has been an incredible ride for NoMa,” said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “We’ve promised to drive investment in emerging neighborhoods, and the investments we’ve made to help secure these two anchor tenants are the quintessential examples of just what we are trying to accomplish.”
Located adjacent to the New York Avenue Metro station on Metro’s Red Line and directly south of the new U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) headquarters, Constitution Square is under development by affiliates of StonebridgeCarras of Bethesda, MD and Walton Street Capital of Chicago, IL. Beginning in 2010, Two Constitution Square will be almost completely occupied by the Justice Department. Ground will be broken for the LEED Gold-rated structure on April 7th, along with the rest of the development’s first phase: One Constitution Square with 340,000 SF of office space (also LEED Gold), a residential building with 440 apartment units, and 80,000 square feet of retail space including a planned 50,000 SF high-end grocery store.
NPR, the longtime Washington-based broadcast and digital media company, is taking a different approach. It is selling its current headquarters in the Penn Quarter and acquiring the 165,000 square foot building at 1111 North Capitol Street, N.E. from J Street Development of Washington, D.C. Built in 1927 as a warehouse for the old Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, this distinctive whitewashed structure on NoMa’s western border is currently used as warehouse space by the Smithsonian Institution.
J Street had planned a Class A office redevelopment, preserving over 78,000 SF of the original historic structure including frontages on North Capitol and Pierce Streets. NPR will retain the façade and portions of the structure, and integrate it with a new ten-story office tower. All of NPR’s Washington-based journalism, multimedia, business and executive activities will be housed in this new facility, with occupancy planned for 2012. The new headquarters will include a 60,000 SF space for NPR News’ extensive broadcast and multimedia operations and a public space for live shows and events. NPR’s decision to move to NoMa brings cachet and diversity to the neighborhood’s employment base, and helps solidify NoMa as a “media hub” along with CNN and XM Radio. NoMa may still be under construction, but it has definitely arrived!
"First NPR, then the Justice Department, and now a high-end, full- service grocery store -- all within a few feet of a Metrorail station. It’s clear now that NoMa is no longer just a plan – it’s a reality.” That’s what Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said in announcing the lease in NoMa for a 50,000 square foot full-service grocery store at Constitution Square. The store, to be located at the corner of First and M Streets, N.E., is scheduled to open in the winter of 2010/2011.
Just two weeks after announcing the lease, developer StonebridgeCarras broke ground for the first phase of Constitution Square, which – in addition to Harris Teeter – will house some 2,000 employees of the U.S. Department of Justice. The entire first phase of the massive mixed-use complex, scheduled to deliver in 2010, will total 1.6 million SF and include Two Constitution Square with 589,000 SF of office space, 88 percent of which will be occupied by the Department of Justice, and 80,000 square feet of retail space including Harris Teeter; the 340,000 SF One Constitution Square speculative office development; and a residential building with 440 apartments.
Harris Teeter came to NoMa with some help from the District government, which provided a tax incentive to assist with the cost of providing 150 parking spaces. The Constitution Square Economic Development Act of 2008 was passed by the District of Columbia Council in January, 2008 and signed into law on January 29, 2008 by Mayor Fenty.
"The vision of NoMa is a true mixed-use environment – combining office, retail, and residential uses to create a neighborhood out of a former industrial warehouse center,” commented StonebridgeCarras Principal Doug Firstenberg. “To truly accomplish that vision requires a great grocery store. Harris Teeter simply represents the best grocer to help us create this neighborhood. We greatly appreciate the District’s support with enactment of special legislation to address the challenges of providing the right plan and parking necessary to attract a quality store such as Harris Teeter to an urban location."
The NoMa BID is hosting two exciting festivals this spring: Artomatic and the James Bond Film Festival. The combined events are expected to bring thousands of visitors to NoMa.
Artomatic, Washington’s homegrown art extravaganza, will run from May 9 through June 15, 2008. Up to 800 local and regional artists will exhibit their work on eight floors of the Capitol Plaza building, located at 1st and M Streets, N.E., just one block from the New York Avenue Metro station. Artomatic will be open Wednesday through Sunday with late-night weekend hours.
Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished indoor space into an incredibly diverse arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays and sales by hundreds of artists, the event features free musical, dance, and theater performances; holiday celebrations; films; educational presentations; children’s workshops and much more. For more information on artist registration, sponsorship and volunteer opportunities as well as a calendar of events, visit http://www.artomatic.org.
This year’s Artomatic, occupying 200,000 square feet at Capitol Plaza, will be the largest to date. Designed by the renowned architect Shalom Baranes, Capitol Plaza is owned by Polinger, Shannon & Luchs and is currently being leased. It has 293,000 rentable square feet of Class A office space, with dramatic Capitol and city views from the upper floors.
While most Artomatic traffic will occur on weekends, NoMa’s first-ever James Bond Film Festival will enliven Thursday nights in NoMa all summer long -- from May 8 through August 28. Free and open to the public, the outdoor festival will feature 16 of the best Bond flicks from 1962 through 2006. Pre-film activities include a James Bond and Odd Job look-alike contest, live music performances and other fun events.
The Bond films will be shown at about dusk, rain or shine, on the site of the future Washington Gateway mixed-use development at the intersection of Florida and New York Avenues, N.E. The site is located directly across Florida Avenue from the New York Avenue Metro station and the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) headquarters.
For more information and a movie schedule visit NoMa's website: http://www.nomabid.org.
Pound Coffee, an independently owned coffee shop, opened its doors on April 1st and began serving latte-starved office workers, visitors and neighborhood residents in NoMa. The cafe is located at 200 Florida Avenue, N.E., Unit B (entrance is on 2nd Street, just outside the New York Avenue Metro station and next door to the new headquarters of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)).
“This will be a premier coffee shop that focuses on delivering a great customer experience,” says local entrepreneur and owner Khalil Ghannam. “We will serve unbelievably good coffee and superior baked goods, all of which will be baked fresh daily, either on premises or delivered from standout local bakeries. We also will provide great customer service, so NoMa can count on us to be a part of the community for years to come.”
Ghannam, a Washington native, fell in love with the coffee shop culture of Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco while living on the West Coast in the ’90’s. He hopes his new store will help bring that culture to the NoMa neighborhood. “For all of its great qualities, D.C. has had a shortage of independent premium coffee shops,” says Ghannam “Those of us who are opening such establishments are just trying to fill that niche.”
In addition to coffee and baked goods, Pound will have some grab-‘n’-go breakfast and lunch items that will focus on healthy fare. Business hours are 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Weekend hours, which will begin in May, will be 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.poundcoffee.com or call 202-408-5282 (JAVA).
Pound is the first glimmer of the upscale retail planned for NoMa's growing workforce and area residents. By June, Pound will have two new restaurants as neighbors: Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli and Sister’s Pizza & Mussels. Both Heidi’s and Sister’s were founded in Denver, Colorado by Steve Naples, who grew up in northern New Jersey and often enjoyed Brooklyn’s pizza and deli fare, as well as the mussels dishes offered by a Sicilian pizzeria in his neighborhood. Both Heidi’s and Sister’s became highly popular in Denver, and are now being franchised all over the country.
The NoMa franchisee is a group headed by local resident Ian Swain, who has leased a total of 2,940 square feet for the two eateries with seating for at least 50. The NoMa Heidi’s will be the second restaurant in Washington, D.C.; Sister’s will be the very first outlet of this growing national chain in the D.C. metropolitan area. Both stores will be under the day-to-day management of, a culinary operations manager Bernard Wrenn.
Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli will feature such deli favorites as pastrami, corned beef, lox, Reubens, cheesesteaks, roast beef, turkey, BLT, and more. All sandwiches are served on fresh-baked breads made on premises including ciabatta, rye, pumpernickel, Italian, and sourdough. Heidi’s also serves fresh salads, wraps, soups, healthy smoothies, breakfast selections, cheesecake, and other treats. Its motto is: “If you think you can find a better deli, just fuggedaboudit!”
Sister’s Pizza & Mussels, named after the founder’s two pizza-loving daughters, specializes in New Jersey-style pizza, calzones, jumbo wings, steamed mussels with various sauces, steamed clams, fried calamari, and even a pizza with mussels and other seafood toppings.
“We are proud that we have been able to offer the first ATF retail leases to local entrepreneurs who are offering unique restaurant concepts,” said Carla Merritt of LeDroit Park Development Company, which is leasing the retail building along with Capital Retail Group. Added Robert Tack of Capital Retail Group: “With Pound Coffee, Heidi’s, and Sister’s opening this spring, NoMa will have a nice variety of restaurant options with high-quality food at fair prices.”
December 2007
January 2008
March
April
Coming soon...
Beginning in April, visitors to NoMa - and NoMa regulars as well - will get a helping hand from the BID’s uniformed Ambassadors. The BID is placing three roving Ambassadors on the streets of NoMa, particularly around the New York Avenue and Union Station Metro stations. Their tasks will include: greeting and providing directions to visitors and travelers, providing safety escort services upon request, reaching out to homeless persons and referring them to agencies that provide support services, reporting and following up on maintenance and repair needs, and more. The Ambassador team will be a key facet of the BID’s comprehensive program designed to make NoMa clean, safe, and friendly for employees and visitors alike.
